Drawer guide



May 21, 1963 c. J. DARGENE 3,090,662

DRAWER GUIDE Filed March 14, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Carl QiDa gew ue 1 @6 4, ilk ALWaM C'm- TomzyM May 21, 1963 c. J. DARGENE DRAWER GUIDE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 14, 1961 MVELMTO care Q7- uz 4 0. ALM uJ-wm OIY-TQIQIQEM United States Patent 3,090,662 DRAWER GUIDE Carl J. Dargene, Rockford, 111., assignor to Amerock Corporation, Rockford, 11]., a corporation of Illinois Filed Mar. 14, 1961, Ser. No. 95,547 1 Claim. (Cl. 312-343) The invention relates to drawer guides and more particularly to the type in which a roller journaled on the drawer rides in a horizontal channel secured at opposite ends to front and rear frame members such as the walls of a cabinet.

The primary object of the present invention is to support the rear or inner end of the channel on a novel mounting bracket which is properly positioned against the rear frame member by the drawer and the channel so that the bracket may be alined and secured in place quickly and easily from outside the cabinet.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a cabinet with drawers mounted on guides embodying the novel features of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a somewhat enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 2-2 in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken along the line 3-3 in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged exploded perspective view of the drawer guide and novel mounting bracket.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary sectional view of a portion of FIG. 2 showing the first step in mounting a drawer and channel with the novel bracket.

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5 showing the second step in mounting the channel.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary section showing the final step in mounting the channel.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 3 but showing the novel bracket in a different position.

As shown in the drawings for purposes of illustration, the invention is incorporated in a drawer 10 supported for sliding back and forth in an opening 11 in a cabinet 12. To facilitate such sliding, a roller 13 is secured to the drawer adjacent the rear or inner end thereof and rolls on a horizontal track 14 formed on an elongated channel 15 extending horizontally between front and rear frame members 17 and 18 of the cabinet, preferably along the bottom of the opening and centrally located between the edges thereof.

The roller 13, which conveniently may be made of molded nylon, is journaled on a rivet 19 fixed to the lower end of a plate 20 fast on and extending below the end of the drawer, and rolls between upper and lower flanges 21 on the channel. In this instance, the upper flange is cut away adjacent the forward end of the slide to form an aperture 22 (FIG. 4) through which the roller may be inserted into the channel. An car 23 struck down from the upper flange near the forward end of the channel forms a stop for preventing the drawer from accidentally being pulled out too far. To permit the roller to by-pass the stop as the drawer is being slid into or removed from the cabinet, the lower flange is formed with a depression 24 below the car 23. By raising the outer end of the drawer, the roller may be lowered into the depression and moved around the stop.

Herein, the forward end of the channel 15 is supported on the front frame member 17 by a bracket 25 suitably secured to the channel and formed with a lip 28 extending across the center of the lower edge 29 of the drawer opening and held in place by nails or screws driven into the frame through holes 31 in the lip. The inner end of the channel is secured to the rear frame member or wall 18 in substantial alinement, both horizontally and vertically, with the forward end so that the drawer is supported in a level position and slides back and forth without binding in the cabinet.

In accordance with the present invention, the inner end of the channel 15 is supported by a novel mounting bracket 32 which, when being installed, is held in the proper position and against the frame by the channel and the drawer and thus may be fastened in place easily and quickly as by a staple or a nail 33 driven into the bracket from the outside of the cabinet. For this purpose, the bracket 32 telescopes snugly with the end of the channel and is formed at one end with a stop 34 for abutting against the channel and limiting sliding of the bracket away from the rear wall as the nail enters the bracket, and the end of the bracket adjacent the wall is made of substantial thickness to receive the nail. In this instance, the bracket 32, which preferably is composed of molded plastic such as polyethylene, comprises a sleeve 36 formed with a generally rectangular recess 35 of a cross-section substantially the same as the external cross-section of the channel, and a wall 38'closing one end of the sleeve constitutes both the stop 34 and the thickened end portion of the bracket. This wall 38 conveniently may be formed integrally with the sleeve during the molding operation.

Using this mounting bracket 32, the channel 15 may be installed first by attaching its forward end to the front frame 17 as illustrated in FIG. 5, with the bracket telescoped onto the inner end. The roller 13 then is inserted in the channel through the aperture 22 as shown in FIG. 6, and the drawer is slid past the stop 23 and into the cabinet. When the front panel 39 of the drawer is held tightly against the outside of the frame, the drawer is raised to and held in its normal, horizontal position, and the roller cooperates with the upper flange to raise the inner end of the channel to its corresponding position adjacent the rear -wall 18. Thus the bracket is properly alined, both vertically and horizontally, and the nail 33 may be driven through the wall and into the bracket, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, to retain the latter in position during service use of the cabinet. If, as is usually the case, the channel is slightly shorter than the distance between the front and rear frame members, the rear wall is pressed inwardly during nailing (see FIG. 7) and then is permitted to return to its normal position. As a result, the bracket is held against the rear wall and slides partially off the channel after being nailed in place (see FIG. 8).

In this instance, laterally extending wings 40 are formed on opposite sides of the bracket 32 so that the channel also may be mounted from the inside of the cabinet, if desired, as by driving nails 41 (FIG. 9') through the wings. Herein, the sleeve 36 is formed with a second rectangular recess 35 disposed at a right angle with and intersecting the recess 35 so that the bracket may be mounted with the wings disposed above and below the sleeve where there is limited space on the sides.

It should be apparent that a bracket formed in accordance with the present invention facilitates installation of the drawer guides. The bracket is alined in its proper position relative to the forward end of the channel quickly and easily by the drawer itself, and may be attached as by nailing from the outside. Thus, alinement and fastening of the bracket from the inside of the cabinet s avoided and the proper positioning of the channel is insured. Moreover, the mounting of the bracket automatically compensates for any inaccuracies in the drawer. Thus, if the drawer should be out of square, the front panel 39 still will close properly against the frame since that was the position of the drawer used in mounting the bracket.

I claim as my invention:

In a cabinet including front and rear frame members and a drawer sliding on an elongated guide secured at one end to said front member and extendinghorizcntally into the cabinet toward said rear member with its other end adjacent the rear member, the combination with said cabinet of, a mounting bracket disposed adjacent said rear member and having a portion telescoping snugly with said other end, a stop formed on said bracket to abut against said guide and limit sliding of said bracket 7 along the guide and away from said rear member, and a tial thickness relative to the length of said fastener and composed of material capable of receiving and gripping the projecting end of said fastener as the latter is driven through an embedded in both the rear member and the bracket whereby said fastenerand said bracket support said other end of said guide on the rear member.

. References Cited in the file of'this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 703,094 Steiger June ,24, 1902 2,587,691 Brewer Ma-r. 4; 1952 2,867,926 Cutler Jan. 13,1959

FOREIGN PATENTS 153,776 Switzerland June.16, 1932 281,088 Switzerland June3, 1952 1,236,644 France June 13, 19,60 

